President Stacie Cook rang the bell to kick off the meeting at 12:03 p.m., followed by the invocation by Dave Hartman. Cara Sauceda led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance and the song, "When You're Smiling." During the tune of "R-O-T-A-R-Y," we mingled and greeted one another. Bruce Shultes, our program, introduced his brother Jeff, who was in attendance at the meeting today.
Bob Hampton had Dave Hartman come up to the front so we could celebrate his birthday on September 4. Bob gave a very informative history of Dave Hartman's life.
During the Sunshine Report, Steve Priester let the club know that Arnold Oliver was up and around and recovering from COVID-19.
We had a couple of announcements from Alan Donaldson and Carol Murray. Alan informed the club that we have Rotary stickers/emblems available for all of us to take to place on our business windows or vehicles. Carol reminded the club of Outstanding Citizen Award Nomination applications. They are available but are not due for a few weeks. If you have a nominee, please fill out the form and return it to Carol or any of her committee members.
We had the honor of welcoming a new member today. John Mayfield introduced Dr. Thien “Tin” Tran. He is an OBGYN at United Regional Physicians Group, and we are excited to have him join the club.
This week's program was introduced by Josh Phillips. We had the pleasure of welcoming Bruce Shultes. The program was titled "District 5790 Disaster Relief." Bruce wanted to inform the club of the opportunities available through our Rotary District to aid in disaster relief.
Disaster Aid USA was a club project that started in 2010. It is similar to ShelterBox, with the goal of providing aid in the USA. The vision statement of the program is to create a world where everyone has the resources to overcome disasters. The mission statement is to very quickly respond to disasters to provide aid. At this time, the program is in full swing in Florida with the recent hurricane.
District 5790 has a 20-foot trailer with the necessary supplies to aid people in need during a disaster. Bruce is working with all of the clubs in the district to make an annual donation to fund the program. If the club donates to the program, they can advertise on the trailer and use it as advertising for city events.
Bruce then described the process to deploy to a disaster. Initially, there is a needs assessment where they contact the area District Governor, Local Government Authorities, and they coordinate with other disaster relief organizations. Following the assessment, if deployment is confirmed, they contact the volunteers and make sure everyone is trained and ready to go.
There are many ways to volunteer. Behind the scenes, there is a need for board members, club chairs to connect the local clubs with the district, communications, IT, and logistics. Then, there is the option to be on the ground as part of the response team. There is a need for team leaders, day workers, skid steer operators, tractor operators, cooks, drivers, and mental health services.
Bruce hopes to have 100 volunteers by the end of 2023 and 250 volunteers by the end of 2024. He hopes to have funding of $20,000 by the end of 2023. Following the program, Stacie Cook presented the speaker's gift.
Following the program, Carol Murray took some money for the Brag Bucket. Noel Filer bragged on all of the volunteers for HHH this last week and also bragged on Colton for completing the Triple Threat. Monica Horton bragged on her son for competing the Series 7 test. Cara Sauceda bragged on the Dexter Interact club. Dave Hartman also bragged on the HHH volunteers and the community for a great weekend.
Carol Murray delivered the Rotary Minute following the brag bucket. She reminded the club of the Rotary Foundation and the good it provides for preventing polio, providing clean water, launching an anti-bullying campaign. It is easy to donate. Let Tina know or simply submit donations on your quarterly statement. The meeting ended with the Four-Way Test.